Here come The Ashes – who’re you tipping?

The subject of ‘tipping’ is always controversial. There is the school that advocates tipping when appropriate and the amount is governed by the level of service provided. Another crowd say that it shouldn’t be entertained at all because the waiters/servers are paid salaries (and at this point there rises up a hoard of waiters who scream that their “salary” is pitiful and they need the tips to make up their income to that of a living wage).

What no one will argue against is that the culture of ‘tipping’ varies from country to country – some folk are far more generous than others. Put any group from different countries together and get them to expound on their view of tipping, and you’ll get as many variations as there are people sitting around the table sipping espressos!

Image: europeupclose.com

There are those who have almost made tipping a science, to the extent that they base their tips on star-ratings they allocate for food, for service and for atmosphere – all very subjective. But then isn’t any evaluation of anything subjective? It’s all in the eye of the beholder in the same way some regard Picasso as an artistic genius, others say his art is rubbish.

What is NOT subjective, is the planning and ordering taking place almost as we speak, that stocktakers like Rutters are having to undertake in the build-up to the coming Ashes Series. And we won’t even mention the planning that has already been in place for the two weeks of Wimbledon. Jon’s teams don’t take a time-out like us mere mortals. They’re working behind the scenes to ensure that their clients are properly prepared in order to ensure their patron’s enjoyment.

But there are some very nervous waiters around the country, wondering which group of supporters are going to use their turf as the chosen venue to watch the Series. And they are even more upset now that Mickey Arthur has been given the boot by the Aussies. Because Mickey is South African, and he might have had an influence on the Aussie team leaving tips wherever they went. But the new incumbent, Darren Lehman is a true-blue Aussie and everyone knows, especially the waiters around the world, that Aussies are notoriously bad tippers. It’s not in their culture. They might leave a few odd coins lying about (they don’t want to weigh down their knapsack) or may even mention, “keep the change, mate.” but as tippers per se … no.

The waiters around the country are hoping for hoardes of England supporters, with lots of their American and South African friends in tow, to flood into their pubs and restaurants. Those groups have, over the years, been prone to reward waiters with from 10 to even as much as 20% of the bill in tips. While the Aussies have left bird seed type scraps for the staff.

Someone even suggested that if you happen to venture into a local watering-hole with a predominance of green-and-gold-clad patrons, mention what country you come from to your waiter from the get-go – it might cheer them up in anticipation of your adding a tip at the end of the day.

So you want a tip? England to win The Ashes – two games to one!